NEW YORK — GMAC executives said the company is continuing to demonstrate its support of automotive dealers by announcing additional actions, including extending the curtailment waiver for the month of May and accepting new applications for wholesale financing from qualified U.S. dealers of GM and non-GM franchises.

Furthermore, the company said that it will begin working with Chrysler dealers as soon as practicable and no later than mid-May.  

Overall, GMAC Financial Services today reported a first quarter net loss of $675 million, compared with a net loss of $589 million in the first quarter of 2008.

Results in the quarter were primarily attributable to continued pressure in mortgage operations related to valuation adjustments on mortgage servicing assets, weaker credit performance on both auto and mortgage assets, mark-to-market adjustments on derivatives, and an original issue discount related to the fourth-quarter debt exchange.

The losses were partially offset by profitable performance in the insurance business and $631 million in after-tax gains on debt extinguishment transactions.

"The effects of a soft economy and weaker credit performance on legacy assets continued to put pressure on GMAC's financial performance in the quarter. We continue to manage through this economic cycle and focus on strengthening operations for the long-term," said Alvaro de Molina, GMAC chief executive officer.

"There were also several signs of progress to mention, such as expanding retail auto lending, maintaining our commitment as a leader in wholesale financing, re-entering the prime jumbo mortgage market, and increasing bank deposits by about $3 billion from the end of the year," he continued.

Moreover, he said that, "In addition, last week we announced another milestone in the company's history, that GMAC will be the preferred provider of auto finance products and services for Chrysler dealers and customers. This agreement leverages GMAC's strengths, diversifies our auto finance business and provides new revenue opportunities for the company."

Global Automotive Finance

GMAC's global automotive finance business reported net income of $225 million in the first quarter of 2009, compared with net income of $258 million in the year-ago period. Results were driven primarily by weaker credit performance, which was partially offset by lower interest expense due to lower debt balances, officials said.

New-vehicle consumer financing originations during the first quarter of 2009 significantly decreased to $3.4 billion from $13.1 billion in the first quarter of 2008. In comparison to the prior period, however, origination levels in the first quarter of 2009 increased from extremely low levels in the fourth quarter of 2008, which totaled $2.7 billion.

On Dec. 30, 2008, directly after receiving an investment from the U.S. Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program, GMAC expanded its new North American retail auto financing activities from fourth quarter 2008 levels by $1.1 billion.

The company announced further actions on April 1 to expand retail credit and promote automotive sales in the U.S. In addition, GMAC implemented actions to reduce stress on U.S. dealers during this difficult economic environment. These actions include eliminating all dealer curtailment payments for aged inventory for the month of April, waiving the fee for dealers to post aged vehicles on GMAC's SmartAuction, and allowing qualified dealers the option to defer wholesale interest charges for two 30-day periods, officials explained.

Executives also said they are extending the curtailment waiver for the month of May and accepting new applications for wholesale financing from qualified U.S. dealers of GM and non-GM franchises.

Credit losses increased in the first quarter of 2009 to 2.41 percent of managed retail assets, versus 1.34 percent in the first quarter of 2008. The significant increase is related to higher frequency of losses in North America and Europe and increased severity in North America.

The increase is primarily attributable to weaker economic conditions and a smaller asset base. While credit losses are also up on a quarter-over-quarter basis due to frequency and an aging portfolio, severity in the first quarter of 2009 has improved compared to the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the company.

Delinquencies, which are contracts more than 30 days past due, also increased to 3.08 percent in the first quarter, compared with 2.42 percent in the first quarter of 2008. Driving the increase is weaker economic conditions in certain international markets, such as Spain and Colombia, and a smaller asset portfolio in North America and Europe.

GMAC also reiterated that it recently announced an agreement with Chrysler to provide auto financing products and services to Chrysler dealers and customers. GMAC will be the preferred provider of new wholesale financing for Chrysler dealer inventory and has a four-year agreement for incentivized retail financing with limited exclusivity.

Discussing this agreement, officials said the new business is expected to begin "as soon as practicable" and no later than mid-May.

In conjunction with this announcement, the U.S. government apparently has indicated that it intends to support GMAC in promoting the availability of credit for dealers and customers.

Liquidity and Capital

GMAC's consolidated cash and cash equivalents were $13.3 billion as of March 31, down from $15.2 billion at Dec. 31, 2008. Included in the consolidated cash and cash equivalents balance are $1.7 billion at Residential Capital, LLC, $3.9 billion at GMAC Bank and $562 million at the insurance business.

The change in consolidated cash is primarily related to an increase in lending activities at GMAC Bank and GMAC debt maturity payments, officials indicated.

GMAC Bank total assets were $36.4 billion at quarter-end, which included $10.8 billion of assets at the auto division and $25.6 billion of assets at the mortgage division. This compares to $32.9 billion of assets at Dec. 31, 2008.

Deposits increased in the first quarter to $22.5 billion as of March 31, which included $11.0 billion of retail deposits, $9.5 billion of brokered deposits and $2.0 billion of other deposits. This compares to $19.3 billion of deposits at Dec. 31, 2008, with $7.2 billion of retail, $10.6 billion of brokered, and $1.5 billion of other deposits.

GMAC's total equity at March 31 was $22.0 billion, up from $21.9 billion at Dec. 31, 2008.

During the first quarter, GMAC completed a rights offering whereby GM and FIM Holdings collectively purchased an additional $1.25 billion of GMAC common equity interests. In addition, GMAC completed a private transaction that extinguished certain debt and was the primary driver of a $631 million increase in equity. The transactions strengthened the company's capital position. At quarter-end, GMAC's Tier 1 capital ratio was 10.6 percent, and the Tier 1 common ratio was 7.3 percent, executives explained.

Insurance

GMAC's insurance business recorded net income of $50 million, down from net income of $132 million in the first quarter of 2008. The change in performance reflects investment impairments, the sale of the U.S. reinsurance business in 2008 and overall lower volume due to the difficult economic climate, weak vehicle sales and repositioning the U.S. personal lines business.

The carrying value of the insurance investment portfolio was $5.0 billion at March 31, compared with $7.2 billion at March 31, 2008. This decline was related to the sale of the reinsurance business, unfavorable foreign currency movement and changes in unrealized losses, the company indicated.

On April 2, GMAC completed the sale of MEEMIC Insurance Co. This transaction, along with the sale of the U.S. reinsurance business in the fourth quarter of 2008, provided additional capital to strengthen the core operation of automotive-related insurance products.

Mortgage Operations

GMAC's mortgage operations, which include the ResCap legal entity, the GMAC Bank mortgage operation, and the ResMor Trust Canadian mortgage operation, reported a net loss of $125 million for the first quarter of 2009, compared with a net loss of $859 million in the year-ago period.

Results reflect unfavorable servicing asset performance (net of hedge) and high credit-related costs, which were partially offset by a gain of approximately $900 million from the extinguishment of debt, executives said.

Officials did say that U.S. mortgage loan origination volume has begun to show signs of improvement. Loan production in the first quarter was $13.2 billion, compared with $8.2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Production in the quarter was down, however, from the year-ago level of $18.7 billion. Margins have improved due to higher government production and favorable interest rates have led to an increased level of refinance activity. The company has also re-entered the prime jumbo loan market.

GMAC's international mortgage business continues to see increased delinquency rates and declining home prices in the United Kingdom and Spain, according to officials. Operational streamlining efforts in that business have been in place since the first quarter of 2008.

As part of its loss mitigation efforts, GMAC said it has formalized its participation in the Home Affordable Modification Program, which was created to assist struggling homeowners. The company has currently distributed approximately 100,000 financial packages to homeowners who are potentially eligible for modifications under the program.

Corporate and Other

GMAC's corporate and other segment reported a net loss of $825 million in the first quarter of 2009, compared to a net loss of $120 million in the prior period. The main drivers of results were the elimination of the $900 million gain on the debt extinguishment in mortgage operations and a valuation adjustment on assets.

Also adversely affecting results was $267 million of original issue discount amortization related to the bond exchange, which led to an increase in interest expense. Partially offsetting results were gains of $631 million related to debt extinguishment transactions.

Outlook

GMAC said it is fully engaged in extending credit to consumers and businesses. The company continues to lend to auto dealers, has expanded credit to automotive retail customers and recently re-entered the prime jumbo mortgage market.

GMAC's commitment to the U.S. auto industry, in particular, has been reinforced by the agreement to provide automotive financing products and services to Chrysler dealers and customers. This new business is expected to begin "as soon as practicable" and no later than mid-May.

Looking ahead, the economic environment remains challenged, market-based funding remains scarce, economic conditions are soft and credit quality continues to deteriorate, officials outlined.